91做厙

Computed Tomography (CT)

Computed tomography is a technique that allows us to produce 3D x-ray images of your horse's head, neck and legs.

The 91做厙 Equine Referral Hospital was the first equine hospital in the UK to install a CT scanner for horses, in 2003. Our equine specialists have scanned hundreds of horses since, thus accumulating a huge amount of expertise in this advanced diagnostic imaging method. Our equine vet team are experts in acquiring the images smoothly and interpreting them accurately in an efficient manner.

The Qalibra CT scanner system we use allows the imaging of the head and upper part of the neck in the standing horse. This is ideal for diagnosing teeth and sinus problems. The scanner enables further evaluation of horses who sustained trauma to their head or show signs of headshaking. It is also a very helpful technique for surgery planning and evaluation of treatment outcomes.

Due to the large 90cm bore of the scanner, under general anaesthesia, there are further regions that can now also be imaged. This includes:

  • entire neck
  • pelvis
  • sacroiliac joints
  • proximal limbs
  • cervicothoracic junction (the segment connecting the neck with the upper back). This is especially helpful for horses showing neck pain, unexplained forelimb lameness and/or ataxia (neurological problems) and in which conventional x-rays and ultrasounds were previously inconclusive or normal

Horse entering Qalibra CT standing scanner

How does an equine CT scanner work?

CT uses a rotating x-ray machine to produce a stack of slice-like images of the body.

This has the advantage that all